Having a morning routines for school on a daily basis helps keep everything organized and easy not just for the kids, but moms too!
Let’s admit it, the first school day of the year is always one of the hardest days. You know that feeling of getting used to not having school day and just getting up anytime you want, and then suddenly you have to face the reality that your lazy days are over – it’s time to go back to school, which means waking up early and all the other stuff along with it.
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While it can be quite daunting for our kids, we, moms, struggle to get through it as well. Our kids’ going back to school means, we also need to go back to our usual daily morning routines for school.
Well, thank goodness if we do have a routine to follow. It would definitely help make life so much easier! Who doesn’t want to have a stress-free morning anyway, right?
So, having said that, we are going to share with you some tips on how to come up with morning routines for school. But before that, why do we need to come up with morning routines for school? How essential having a morning routine is?
WHY COME UP WITH DAILY MORNING ROUTINES FOR SCHOOL
In an article published by NBC News, it says that “setting a clear, stable morning routine can help the whole family get on board and stay on track” and that “it’s good for your kids,” too.
In addition, they mentioned what Dr. Fran Walfish, a family and relationship psychotherapist and the author of “The Self-Aware Parent: Resolving Conflict and Building a Better Bond with Your Child,” says about building morning routines for school. Dr. Walfish states that “Having a clear structure in place gives your child a sense of trust, safety, and security… [They] know what to expect and can easily move through responsibilities.”
We couldn’t agree more with this.
As moms, we are responsible for teaching our kids how to become responsible, at the same time, organized – and coming up with a good morning routines for school on a day to day basis would greatly help.
Also, having a regular morning routine helps keep everyone in the family in the mood. No one’s panicking, and that it is less likely to have someone irritated or grumpy. A regular morning routine helps keep everyone on the right track.
More so, having regular daily morning routines for school helps a lot in starting the day right. After all, mornings are crucial as it affects rather set the mood for the rest of the day. So, imagine, if you start it feeling grumpy, the more likely that you are going to be irritated the whole day. Now, if you start with the right mindset and the right attitude (thanks to regular routines), then the rest of the day will be great.
In addition, having morning routines for school means saving yourself from stress. It will also keep you or your child from forgetting school stuff knowing that everything is organized.
Let’s face it, having a morning routine will help all of us in the family save time and effort. Needless to say, it will spare us all from trouble – like being late for school or office.
TIPS IN COMING UP WITH MORNING ROUTINES FOR SCHOOL
Before we share some tips, if you want to have an idea as you come up with your daily morning routine for school, you may want to check this video out by Grace’s Room. This young girl shares what she does in the morning upon waking up to going to school. This, we thought, is a good source of inspiration as you make your own routine for your kids:
So, now that we have already understood why coming up with a morning routine for school is necessary, here are some tips we wanted to share with you to help starters (in particular) come up with a morning routine that will work for you and your family:
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Prepare as much as you can before going to bed.
One of the best tips ever! Preparing stuff the night before will greatly help in saving time and effort in the morning. Needless to say, this helps you sleep a little longer because you do not have to worry about preparing things in the morning.
When we say prepare as much as you can, this basically includes preparing your child’s school stuff (like homework, books, projects, notes, etc.). Make sure that all your child’s school needs are already packed and prepared. You may also include preparing their snacks ahead and then put it in the fridge so all you need to do in the morning is put in their lunch bags (this is applicable to younger kids, of course).
If you are going to cook food in the morning, you may consider preparing the ingredients ahead so all you need to do upon waking up is cook — literally.
Prepare your kids’ uniforms ahead as well. This will spare you from having to iron clothes in the morning. If you also handle preparing your husband’s clothes for work, plan it ahead and make it ready for use the next day. By the way, you may consider planning your husband’s outfit for the whole week if you want to. This lets you save a lot of time.
You see, having the common daily chores done ahead will help keep your hours in the morning filled with relaxation rather than stress. It will also help you become more at ease doing what’s left to do.
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Prepare a job checklist.
A job checklist basically refers to what your kids need to do every morning. As moms, we have to train our kids early to become organized and responsible, and having a job checklist will greatly help.
Depending on your preference, you can write a checklist every day or you may opt to repeat the jobs kids are expected to do every school morning. The goal of having this checklist is for your kids to eventually get used to doing them, and eventually, get rid of the checklist.
To give you an idea, some of the school morning jobs that you can include in the checklist are:
– Waking up at (a specified time)
– Making the bed
– Taking a bath
– Getting dressed
– Brushing hair and teeth
– Putting on shoes
– Placing backpack (and other school stuff needed for the day) by the door
– Eating breakfast
As moms, let’s make it a habit to check the checklist. This will give your children the impression that you are really serious about it. You also make it a habit to ask your kids if they have done all the jobs.
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Wake up a little early.
We understand it can get dragging waking up early, but trust us, it makes a lot of difference when you wake up a little early in the morning.
Of course, to help you be able to wake up early, that means you need to sleep early as well. That way, you get to have enough sleep. Enough to get recharged for the next day’s work. Needless to say, having enough sleep means being in the mood and having all the right energies you need to keep going for the whole day.
To help you know how much sleep your body needs to fully recharge, in a week or so before school starts, allow your body to sleep naturally for however long it wants. This way, you will get to know how much sleep or rest your body needs. Once you have figured it out, you may adjust your sleep time to ensure you meet what your body requires on a daily basis.
Just to give you an idea, some of us are used to waking up earlier in an hour or two every morning. This gives us ample time to do morning chores without rushing or panicking. Some of us, use the time to do some meditation or relaxation. By the way, we love the fact that it’s very quiet in the morning, it allows you to reflect and think about life and all.
By waking up early, you get to prepare everything before your kids, as well as your husband, wake up. So, once they’re up, all you need to do is assist them in preparing their selves for the day — like helping your kid take a bath, putting their clothes on, etc.
Waking up early benefits you a lot. It gives you time to move around without having to worry about your kid. More so, it also helps boost your energy and focus on what’s in store for the rest of the day.
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Eat a healthy breakfast with your family.
As we have mentioned earlier, the morning sets the mood for the rest of the day. What better way to do that than having a healthy breakfast with your family in the table, right?
As moms, we have to ensure that eating together is an essential part of our daily morning routines for school. Eating together will help your children have that positivity all throughout the day. Needless to say, having meals together helps keep the family’s bond. It gives both the parents and children the opportunity to get to know each other more, as well as to talk about anything and everything.
Of course, apart from eating together, we have to make sure we are giving our family healthy food choices. We highly recommend coming up with a meal plan to help spare you from having to think every morning what food to prepare for your family.
When preparing food for breakfast, keep in mind that it is considered the most important meal of the day. Thus, make sure what you cook during this time will help you and your family get through the day.
A healthy and balanced breakfast meal must include food high in protein, fruit, as well as some form of healthy fat. Having breakfast helps keep the body more energized, and it also helps boost your productivity level.
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Keep a tidy home.
While most of us usually do it in the morning, we highly suggest doing it at night too. It actually feels great waking up to a clean home. Do you agree? It feels different. Needless to say, it feels good knowing that you are done tidying the house at night and that you no longer have to worry about it in the morning.
When tidying up, this also includes having all the things your kids need for the next school day ready. This includes bags, outerwear or uniforms, shoes, etc. Make sure all these stuff are placed at the right places so you do not have to look for it in the morning — which can be stressful.
Perhaps you will agree if we say that having a tidy home helps give us a clear mind, needless to say, it helps set a great mood for the day. Having a clean home also makes it easier to get your tasks done.
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Learn to delegate tasks.
Okay, moms, you do not have to do it all yourself. You can always delegate tasks among family members — including our kids. One thing is making them responsible for their things. Teach them how to pack their bags appropriately, and tell them to do it before going to sleep.
A new school year is actually a new chance of teaching our kids life skills through daily morning routines for school.
By the way, teaching your kids this stuff does not necessarily mean you have to do it in the school morning. The most effective way to teach them how to do things is before school starts. The application process would be during school days.
Teaching your kids in the school morning will not be as effective – rather it may just ruin you and your kid’s morning.
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As much as possible, keep your calm and be patient.
Mornings can get really challenging especially with young kids. There are good days when you get a great morning, but on other days, it could be filled with chaos. Thus, as a mom, you have to remember to keep your cool, and stock up a lot of patience especially during the bad days.
Being calm and patient amidst the bad days or adversities is a way of teaching our kids to be just like that as well. You see, children follow what they see in us. So, if we want them to be calm and patient, be that in the first place.
We understand there are times when our kids can be tough to manage — like when they are stubbornly taking their time while you are in the rush. During these times, make it a habit to slow down and show attention to your kid. While it can be tempting to get mad, staying composed could help move the process along.
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Say no to TV, video or mobile games, or mobile phones first thing.
In this day and age, it has become a habit for most of us to check our phones or play mobile games or watch TV upon waking up. Unfortunately, these habits do not help. In fact, it helps ruin good morning routines for school.
Thus, make sure to keep all these away from your children in the morning or you can simply tell them that these are not allowed in the morning or else, it’s going to be a chaotic morning.
In some instances, it may also help to encourage your kids to do their tasks. You can set up a rule that they can only use these technologies if they are done doing their morning routines.
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Quitting is not an option, keep trying.
The reality of creating morning routines for school is that it will never be easy. It’s not going to be a one-day thing and your kids will do the same every single day after that. There are days when you will fair, and glory days, too.
No matter how excruciating coming up with a morning routine could be, just remember to never quite. Try and try until you succeed, as they say.
Do not feel bad if you fail in a day. Remember, it is a process. More so with your kid. It will take time before he or she gets to master the routine.
Consider every day as trial and error, and as you progress to take the good things you learn every day and add it up to the next day. Adjust when necessary until you find the perfect fit for your morning routines for school.
By the way, it would also be nice if you consolidate the learnings within your family, and together you choose which ones to apply the following days. Meanwhile, take away all that does not work for you and your family.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON MORNING ROUTINES FOR SCHOOL
Routine is basically a sequence of actions of activities that you do on a regular basis. It helps put an order on things, in this case, it helps put an order in your daily school morning.
Creating a routine may get a little challenging in the beginning, but once you and your family get used to it, it will be a breeze. It does not happen overnight though so make sure to give yourself and your family (especially the kids) room for improvement every single day.
Ultimately though, having a routine, in this case, morning routines for school is the best way to go. It will keep you organized, at the same time, help you and your kids become even more responsible. More so, it will bring peace and order into your home every waking morning.
Have you tried creating your own morning routines yet? How does it go so far? Remember, when creating morning routines for school, make sure to involve everyone so you’d know how they want their mornings to go as well. Good luck!
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